Tag Archives: 2012 Election

We are hours away from the weekend, which means it is time for your weekly dose of healthy news! This week we have rounded up stories from Entertainment Weekly, Best Life Diet, and Yahoo! Shine. And while Halloween may be over, we’ve got treats that can be made with your leftover candy.

With the elections coming up, government programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, could be changed drastically. DIR’s staff writer Lacy J. Hansen tried to feed her family healthy meals on a food stamp budget and barely made it. Read about Lacy’s food stamp project and tell us what you think!

This week’s true weight loss story features Vanessa from Upstate New York. After Vanessa’s mother’s passed, she knew she had to start living a healthy life. She ditched the bags of Dove chocolate for cardio and weight training. Tell us what you think about Vanessa’s weight loss journey!

There is a new trend sweeping the nation – kids selling their Halloween candy back to dentist offices. Tooth decay and cavities are a result of children eating loads of Halloween candy. We found one kid who received $22 for selling his Halloween candy to a local dentist office! This is a neat way to get rid of the sugar high will still giving them a reason to celebrate. (more…)

It seems as if now more than ever the current political climate is creating a massive fault line of tension under the foundation of this country. While many are ready for the elections to be over, some are still left undecided in their choice of whom they’d like to see as the next president of the United States. Election Day presents a seriously important opportunity to make a seriously important decision, and because of that, some will never even fill out a ballot.

As much as we’d love to just bury our heads and hide until after Election Day, it is nearly impossible. Propaganda is everywhere we look. While the yoga mat would seem like a nice shelter from the political storm, as yoga studios typically do not encourage wicked political debating, slander, or inappropriate propositioning, this election is different. It is spawning a nationwide kick in the asana.

In an effort to motivate yogis into action, celebrity yoga teacher and activist Seane Corn put her tenacious attitude to work and has reintroduced yoga to politics. Together with Congressman Tim Ryan and many others, Corn founded YogaVotes, a nonpartisan campaign to get yogis to the polling stations in 2012.

Believing that the yoga mat is too small of a space to express human potential, Corn created an avenue for people to practice political action and bring unity to what she refers to as a “hyper-partisan” country. Not only can individuals sign on to become YogaVotes leaders, yoga studios can also commit to extend the philosophies brought on by yoga out into the greater community via political activism. (more…)

All eyes are looking south today as the South Carolinians head to the polls for one of the most influential votes in this election year. It’s an event with weeks of build up, and voters across the country are anxiously waiting the results to hear if Romney, Gingrich, Paul, or Santorum, (or maybe even the Colbert/Cain ticket) moves a step closer to the GOP nomination.

Prepare a Carolina-inspired feast today, with all of the hospitality and flavor Southern recipes are known for, and less of the fat and calories that make the foods famous.

These days presidential candidates have to deal with a lot. There’s the stress of campaigning and with that comes a lot of baby kissing, hand shaking and endless smiling. Then, there are the never-ending debates as well as the stress-filled wait of getting the vote totals so that they can decide whether or not to move forward. Now that Mitt Romney has secured his spot as the frontrunner for the 2012 GOP nomination with his latest win in the New Hampshire Republican Primary, the pressure is really on. That includes keeping his diet intact to keep him healthy enough to continue in the race.

But is Mitt Romney fit enough to be president? Can he keep his diet balanced enough to sustain his run for the presidency?

We did some checking to see how he has fared thus far and the answers may surprise you.

Presidential candidates are subject to their surroundings. They’re always “ON,” meaning they have to come in contact with and show support for their supporters. This means that food is always around, we are a nation of celebrators and more often than not, food is a part of the celebration. The campaign trail is no different. During his campaign stops between Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney’s team scheduled a series of food-based events; Coffee with Mitt (coffee is actually banned by his Mormon religion), Pizza with Mitt and Spaghetti with Mitt. Then there is the stop he made at the Iowa State Fair where he could be seen downing a corn dog, a hot dog and a pork chop on a stick. Not exactly the lunch of champions.

Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann has recently announced her presidential candidacy. What will it mean for your health care if Bachmann ultimately wins the 2012 election?

According to her website, one of Bachmann’s top priorities is to repeal Obamacare because she considers its directives to be unconstitutional. As a constitutional conservative, Bachmann says on her website that she is a “champion of tea party values” and that “the solutions to our problems (don’t) come from Washington: more than ever, Washington IS the problem, and the real solutions will come from your businesses, your communities, your schools and the most basic and powerful unit of all, your families.”

This means that first lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to increase health-responsibility within the government are sorely frowned upon by Bachmann. Bachmann calls Mrs. Obama’s push for breastfeeding and other such efforts to eradicate obesity and promote good health a “nanny state” tactic. Currently, Mrs. Obama’s campaigns focus on children’s health, fitness and nutrition as preventative care. Although she’s been at the brunt of Bachmann’s criticism recently, Mrs. Obama isn’t the only first lady to push legislation with health initiatives. Both Hillary Clinton and Nancy Reagan were known for their persistence with health-related campaigns.

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